Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Suicide Is Painless

Pop Goes The Hamstring! And like that, Terrmel Sledge is out for a good period of time. It’s a grade two hamstring tear. I’m no medical doctor like some people, but I know that’s not good.

Hammies just don’t like to heal, and the slightest wrong movement can set rehab back.

Needless to say, he’ll join our parade of schlubs on the DL.

The question becomes, who replaces him?

If you want an outfielder, the obvious choice is Tyrell Godwin. He’s smacking the crap outta the ball in New Orleans. But, a closer look at his stats, show that most of his value is tied up in his batting average. He’s not really hitting for power. And he’s not really walking all that much. He’s the Ichiro of the PCL -- just without the talent.

The other outfield option is Matt Cepicky who’s had cup of coffee or two. He’s your typically generic replacement corner outfielder type. He won’t wow you with his glove. He won’t wow you with his bat. (Sounds like JJ Davis!) There are machines in the minor leagues that dispense this kind of player. (Although putting $330,000 worth of quarters into it is a bitch)

There’s also this hot hitting younger whom I haven’t heard much about. He could be the next young thing. I.E. Chavez? We’ll have to keep an eye out for him.

Truthfully, I think he burned most of his bridges on the way down with the pretty classless and clueless way he left town. He’s pretty clearly below Godwin, and probably below Cepicky on the depth chart. And he’d have to out-hit both to get another chance. Get that man a gold watch!

The only other possible option (and again, I mean that in the most liberal definition of the word) is Jeffrey Hammonds. He’s hitting about .220 in the minors and his bat speed is so slow, he’s still swinging at pitches from spring training. Get THAT man a gold watch.

But, if I were Mr. J. Bowden, I wouldn’t bring up an outfielder. You’ve already got Ryan Church and JJ Davis, giving you a passable platoon. And, in a huuuuge pinch, you’ve got Tony Blanco to flop around left field aimlessly. In theory, that’s five outfielders. That’s enough.

But, what this team does need is another middle infielder. The whole reason this team has been so wackily constructed is because we had to carry all those optionless outfielders. Well, Terrmel fixed that, didn’t he?

The greatest reason for another middle infielder is that it would Free Jamey Carroll! Carroll, who’s a good on-base guy, would be free to pinch hit for the torrid Cristian Guzman, or the pitcher. Right now, Frank always seems to hold him back, just in case of injury. Having a lukewarm body on the bench would give Frank a few more strategic options. (On second thought, is giving Frank more strategic options necessarily a good thing? “Now hitting for Jose Guillen: Henry Mateo”)

The middle infield options are bleak. But, as the warmed-over corpse of Carlos Baerga demonstrates (despite the occasional death spasms that result in the odd hit) having major league ability is not necessary for major league service.

Brendan Harris is the obvious choice. One problem though. He’s not hitting. As Yuda pointed out in the ever-exciting Game Day Chatter, The fact that harris is up to 244/306/300 means he had a hot week

Add in the fact that the team seems to hate him, and it doesn’t Bodes (get it?) well for him.

Henry Mateo, currently on the DL, began a rehab assignment a few days ago with New Orleans. He’s got a nothing bat, but he does know which glove to wear at a few different positions. And supposedly he’s got speed. He’s definitely the caliber of 25th man.

The only other option is career minor leaguer, Rick Short. Short is your basic utility guy. He’s sort of an older, better-hitting (marginally) Mateo. He also actually happens to be hitting minor league pitching.

Which way will they go? I’m not sure. St. Barry of Svrluga indicated they’re leaning towards an outfielder. I don’t know if that’s just speculation or if he’s heard things, man. I’m banking on a Bacon Turkey Bravo-induced high, and that they’ll bring up one of the infielders.

The catch becomes the roster crunch. We’re currently at 40 men [Hey, Whadya know, we're only at 39!]. And none (I might be wrong on this, and I’m sure you’ll correct me) of the options listed are on the 40-man roster, except for Harris, who’s also the least likely.

It won’t be necessary to dump a player. They can probably pretty easily move Wil Cordero or Joey Eischen to the 60-day DL, which would free up an extra 40-man spot.

If they brought a player like Short up, there probably wouldn’t be any problem having him clear waivers when they outrighted him to the minors to take him off the 40-man. Of course by then another injury will have popped up rending that speculation moot.

But, one thing we can all agree on is that if (as the BPro-approved hacktastic cliché says) the answers are Rick Short and Jeffrey Hammonds, you’re asking the wrong question.

74 Comments:

I'm only counting 39 people on the Nationals homepage (your link on the right). Francis Beltran is on the 60-day so I can see why he isn't listed as a member of the 40 man roster, but what am I missing?

Same thing with Bray. He's been held out of service. I don't think it's arm problems, but I think it has more to do with them wanting to limit his innings. (But, I'm sure Brian will point out where I'm wrong here too!)

Wow - this is like a posting frenzy for me (too much time this morning I guess):

Another thought - Marlon Byrd? Philly seems to have soured on him; is there someone who both knows and cares enough about the Phillies to guess if we match up? I know he's an outfielder, but he's a *real* outfielder ...

That said, if he's healthy or close to it, I'd be happy to drop J.J. Davis and add him as a fourth outfielder who can play all three positions out there. Then we're unquestionably free to add an infielder.

I'll go peruse the Phillies' minor-league rosters and see if there's anybody else decent down there they might package in.

Marlon Byrd also joins the club on a 20 day ML rehab assignment for the Phillies. Byrd was initially assigned to the Red Barons opening day roster but was placed on the DL before the season started with a finger injury suffered in spring training. The DL assignment was later voided and transferred to the Phillies DL since the injury occurred in ML spring training.

Byrd's interesting. He definitely has potential. He is an above average, though not spectacular fielder in center.

I know the Phillies have run him down, but I'm not so sure they'd give him up for the kind of scraps we could offer. I think they'd be more inclined to trade Lofton to a contender (proven veteran, and all), especially if they continue to stink.

"Placed outfielder Terrmel Sledge on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring pull; transferred pitcher Joey Eischen from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list; purchased the contract of outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds from New Orleans of the Pacific Coast League (AAA); recalled outfielder Endy Chavez from New Orleans."

The only way that makes sense is the prayer that Jeffrey Hammonds has another insane 75 AB (.300/.400/.500) and we flip him to someone for a cheap lefty.

Chavez, on the other hand, is inexplicable. What does that say to a guy like Brendan Harris, who's trying to take walks, when the poster child for "a better approach" is forgiven and returned to the bigs?

I can see that in the case of some of the young pitchers, but it's not like Rick Short is somebody you ever take to arbitration. He plays for you, at most, for three years while he's cheap and then you non-tender him.